Former Howard government minister

'Shorten may have the leader's position, but from a distance he appears to be just one of the pack.' Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Bill Shorten is in a bad place. When he speaks we are not listening. We hear the words but think of them as just the blah blah he is using today. We can't hear in his voice the strength that comes from knowing all your team are behind you. We can't hear the confidence that comes from conviction. Deeply shallow is the description that comes to mind.

Forget the word commanding, he just has no presence at all. On the national political stage he is a small man. There is not a millimetre of Bob Hawke in him. In the House of Representatives he seems to just go through the stereotypical motions of being opposition leader, as any actor might.

Parliament is a great leveller. The QC and the carpenter stand equally. The great hopes others have placed in you get left at the door. You have to make your own way. Shorten may have the leader's position, but from a distance he appears to be just one of the pack.

Look at his handling of employment issues. The rhetoric Labor uses is way overblown - read hollow. They virtually said that without federal government assistance, the SPC Ardmona fruit processing plant was cactus; that all the jobs would be lost. The ''take-out'' message from Labor was that the company was a basket case. But as it turns out, that is not the case. SPC has won what appears to be a great contract, for them and for local fruit growers.

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The car industry debate is another example of Labor's inability to plug into the real world. A quick look at our merchandise exports from 2007 to 2013 shows a fairly solid decline in passenger vehicle exports on Labor's watch.

The signs of not so much stagnation but decline were there for all to see. Yet Shorten makes no mention of these figures. People who think they can stop the tide of history will drown. If they are political leaders they take us with them.

What Labor needs is men and women prepared to face up to the hard issues with which we expect our leaders to deal. Shorten is not one of them.

If Labor's track record on jobs was anything to be proud of, they might get away with that off-the-cuff quipping. A few salient and sobering facts should have encouraged a little caution.

Under the Rudd/Gillard governments, unemployment went from 4.4 per cent to 5.7 per cent. Average employment growth was 1.4 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent over the Howard years.

Labor likes to talk a lot about jobs in the manufacturing sector. They like to say the Liberals don't care about the workers. What they don't mention is that employment in manufacturing went from just over a million (1.051 million) in the December quarter of 2007 to well under that (921,000) in the December quarter of 2013. That is 1 in 10 manufacturing jobs lost under Labor.

When Labor came to power in November 2007 there were 492,000 unemployed. When they left office in September 2013 there were 694,000. More than 200,000 more people unemployed is nothing to be proud of. Under the Howard government, the number of unemployed decreased by about 269,000. For the long-term unemployed, the result of Labor's last term in office is even less attractive. The number of long-term unemployed nearly doubled, from 69,000 in November 2007 to 133,000 in September 2013. Looking at unemployment overall, the proportion of long-term unemployed jumped from 14 per cent to more than 19 per cent.

Of course, these are not just numbers. They are people - mums and dads, brothers, sisters and lovers, who are looking for work. Those people know that their numbers increased under Labor; they know it well because they have lived the experience. Workers are not stupid.

Workers, with or without a job, expect their union to look after them. When union officials look after themselves first, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those whose money is misused on prostitutes, gambling, travel or some other indulgence. The failure of the Rudd/Gillard governments to do anything about such union corruption let down badly all the decent unionists.

Perhaps for some in the Labor movement, it was all a little too close to home. After all, if you go digging in someone else's laundry basket you can expect them to air some of your own dirty linen. It beggars belief that no one in the parliamentary Labor Party knew what has been going on in Labor-affiliated unions.

Bill Shorten's reaction to Tony Abbott's announcement of a royal commission on union corruption is further evidence that he just isn't up to the job. Shorten said the royal commission wasn't needed because the police could look into any corruption allegations. Yet it is clear that the police alone cannot clean this up; that only a royal commission can provide a clean sweep across state boundaries. Fearful informants want the protection a commission brings.

In stark contrast to Shorten, Paul Howes from the Australian Workers Union was prepared to stand up for workers and to condemn union corruption as being a cancer that will eat away the union movement. Howes made Shorten look small-minded and weak. When those two are together on stage, who do you think all eyes will be on? Watch that space.

Amanda Vanstone is a columnist with The Age and was a minister in the Howard government.

146 comments

Authorised by Liberal Party HQ, Canberra.

Commenter

Simon

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 3:49AM

Rubbish. Shorten died the day he said BIG AUSTRALIA. Big Australia Shorten now has to go.

Commenter

JohnBB

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 4:36AM

Yep, former Liberal politicians write stuff which is biased and reflects their old loyalties.

Only ex Labor figures write objective, sensible critiques which are rational and have any credibility.

Commenter

JohnB

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 4:39AM

One more "Government Change Denier", get over it.

Commenter

Muphin

Location

Tewantin

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 4:45AM

If only Bill could be more of a climate change denying corporate lackey, like err what's his name.

Too many blogs in the SMH by Liberal ex-Ministers is unacceptable in our Murdochracy!

Commenter

Pull the other one

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 4:59AM

Yes, it appears that it was a typical paid advertisement from the LNP, doesn't it Simon?Ms Vanstone is still in the LNP's ''Opposition Mode'' - just like the LNP/Abbott government are. Then you have all the LNP squaddies calling anyone who disagrees with them 'haters' - yet not one of them has had the guts (to date) to explain what THEY mean as 'haters'. This labelling of 'other' whilst they, themselves, spew out bile and emotional hatred on others? Just doesn't make sense...

Commenter

Jump

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 5:04AM

So does that mean that all of the anti-Abbott rubbish we see in both articles and comments was authorised by Labor HQ? Alternatively, maybe, just maybe, the newspapers are printing some material that reflects reality and the views of the voters and you don't like it,

Commenter

John

Location

Canberra

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 5:09AM

True the Libs would like to divert attention from their plans. Shorten could improve though. He could point out that the revenue lost by giving up the carbon and mining taxes will be paid by middle Australia in the form of higher taxes, fees or charges after government cuts begin. We will also lose jobs as argued by Ross Gittens. It's all about shifting Australia's wealth to a tiny minority.

Commenter

Good Logic

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 5:24AM

Shorten has been a major disappointment as Labor leader. Obviously a graduate of the Simon Crean School of Community Engagement, he demonstrates a strange lack of passion on all issues and appears aloof and disinterested in Parliament. What Labor really needs is a narrative it demonstrably believes in and can sell to the public. At present the party is absolutely directionless.

Commenter

Flanders

Date and time

March 17, 2014, 5:25AM

Amanda, you lost me at 'look at his handling of employment issues...' You made some valid points then trotted out the same old Liberal, anti-labor blah blah blah. Strip aside the rhetoric and you are right, though; Shorten is not a man for all seasons.

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